Digital model optimization responsive to orientation sensor data

ABSTRACT

A system server includes a database of two-dimensional images and a processor coupled to a hardware memory with instructions that in response to execution by the processor direct performance of operations. The operations include generating a digital model from the images in the database and communicating a first portion of the digital model as an enhanced view to a user device. The first portion corresponds to a first line of sight orientation of the user device as measured by an orientation sensor. The operations include receiving a signal based on sensor data measured by the orientation sensor. The signal indicates movement of the user device from the first line of sight orientation to a second line of sight orientation. In response, the method includes communicating a second portion of the digital model to the user device that corresponds to the second line of sight orientation of the user device.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/293,547, filed Mar. 5, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No, 15/474,964, filed on Mar. 30, 2017, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,223,741, issued on Mar. 5, 2019; which claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/315,492 filed Mar. 30,2016; each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The embodiments discussed herein are related to digital modeloptimization responsive to orientation sensor data.

BACKGROUND

Ticket marketplace websites provide users the ability to exchangetickets for events. The tickets are used to reserve seats and/oradmission for events, such as sporting events, concerts, theater events,and other entertainment events. On some of the websites, a user searchesfor available tickets and decides which, if any, of the availabletickets are of interest to the user and have the best value. To allow auser to make an informed decision on which tickets to obtain, the ticketmarketplace website may provide information about venues in which theevents are taking place.

The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments thatsolve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such asthose described above. Rather, this background is only provided toillustrate one example technology area where some embodiments describedherein may be practiced.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect, an embodiment may include a system server thatmay include a database of two-dimensional images and one or moreprocessors coupled to a hardware memory with instructions that inresponse to execution by the one or more processors direct performanceof operations. The operations may include generating a digital modelfrom the images in the database. The operations may includecommunicating a first portion of the digital model as an enhanced viewto the user device. The first portion may correspond to a first line ofsight orientation of the user device as measured by the orientationsensor. The operations may include receiving a signal based on sensordata measured by the orientation sensor. The signal may indicatemovement of the user device from the first line of sight orientation toa second line of sight orientation. In response to receipt of thesignal, the operations may include communicating a second portion of thedigital model to the user device that corresponds to the second line ofsight orientation of the user device.

According to another aspect, an embodiment may include a systemconfigured for digital model optimization. The system may include a userdevice and a system server. The user device may include a display deviceand an orientation sensor. The system server may include a database oftwo-dimensional images and one or more processors coupled to a hardwarememory with instructions that in response to execution by the one ormore processors direct performance of operations. The operations mayinclude generating a digital model from the images in the database. Theoperations may include communicating a first portion of the digitalmodel as an enhanced view to the user device. The first portion maycorrespond to a first line of sight orientation of the user device asmeasured by the orientation sensor. The operations may include receivinga signal based on sensor data measured by the orientation sensor. Thesignal may indicate movement of the user device from the first line ofsight orientation to a second line of sight orientation. In response toreceipt of the signal, the operations may include communicating a secondportion of the digital model to the user device that corresponds to thesecond line of sight orientation of the user device.

According to yet another aspect, an embodiment may include a method ofdigital model optimization. The method may include generating a digitalmodel based on a plurality of two-dimensional images. The method mayinclude communicating a first portion of the digital model as anenhanced view to the user device. The first portion may correspond to afirst line of sight orientation of the user device as measured by anorientation sensor. The method may include receiving a signal based onsensor data measured by the orientation sensor. The signal may indicatemovement of the user device from the first line of sight orientation toa second line of sight orientation. In response to receipt of thesignal, the method may include communicating a second portion of thedigital model to the user device that corresponds to the second line ofsight orientation of the user device.

The object and advantages of the embodiments will be realized andachieved at least by the elements, features, and combinationsparticularly pointed out in the claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and arenot restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example operating environment in which someembodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example process that ay beimplemented in the operating environment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 depicts an example screen shot including an example digital map;

FIG. 4 depicts another example screen shot that includes a portion ofthe digital map of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 depicts another screen shot that includes an exampletwo-dimensional image;

FIG. 6 depicts another screen shot that includes another view of thetwo-dimensional image of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7A depicts another screen shot of an example first portion of anenhanced seat view;

FIG. 7B depicts another screen shot of a second portion of the enhancedseat view of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C depicts another screen shot of a third portion of the enhancedseat view of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8A depicts another screen shot of another example first portion ofanother enhanced seat view;

FIG. 8B depicts another screen shot that includes a second portion ofthe enhanced seat view of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9 depicts another screen shot of a portion of another enhanced seatview;

FIG. 10 depicts another screen shot of a portion of another enhancedseat view;

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate diagrams of line of sight orientations of auser device;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example computing system configured forimplementation of an online ticket marketplace interaction or onlineticket exchange;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example method of an online ticketexchange;

FIGS. 14A and 14B are a block diagram of another example of an onlineticket exchange; and

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example method of digital modeloptimization.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

in some existing online ticket marketplaces, ticket marketplace serversand marketplace applications on user devices provide a limited set ofinformation to users. In addition, the information provided to the usersis generally static and impersonal. For instance, a buyer in an onlineticket marketplace may view a general layout of a venue, the seatingsections included in the venue, available tickets, and a ticket price.The user decides whether to purchase a ticket based on this limited setof information. The buyer may regret their purchase when they arrive atthe venue. For example, the buyer may find that the view from the seatis obstructed or their friends all purchased seats in another section.

Reasons for the limited set of information include an unavailability ofthree-dimensional models of the venues. For example, computer-aideddesign (CAD) models for the venues are generally not available.Similarly, photographs of the venue may include two-dimensional images.Embodiments discussed in the present disclosure are related to digitalmodels for venues that are responsive to device orientation. Inparticular, in some embodiments, the digital models may be used forenhanced seat views in an online ticket marketplace. Embodimentsdescribed in the present disclosure address the technological problem ofthe limited information provided in online ticket marketplaces. Forexample, in some embodiments, enhanced seat views are provided to abuyer or another individual interacting with the online ticketmarketplace. The enhanced seat view may be based on three-dimensionaldigital models of the venue. The three-dimensional digital models may bebased on multiple two-dimensional images taken in different directionsthat are stitched together around a higher resolution sphere orprojected into the corresponding faces of a cube.

In the online ticket marketplace, the enhanced seat view may becommunicated to a user device by a system server. The enhanced seat viewincludes a 360-degree interactive view from a selected seating sectionor seat. The portion of the enhanced seat view displayed to the user isresponsive to movement of the user device and a line of sightorientation of the user device from the selected seating section.Additionally, an overlay may be generated that is overlaid on theenhanced seat view. The overlay may include icons that represent anavailable seat, an associate of the user who is also attending an event,a relocation icon, etc. The icons in the overlay are displayed inresponse to the user device being oriented such that the portion of theenhanced seat view that includes the informational overlay correspondsto a line of sight orientation of the user device. The icons may beupdated as seats become available, prices for seats change, associatespurchase tickets, etc. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosureaddress the technological limitations present in online ticketmarketplaces. For instance, embodiments of the present disclosureprovide enhanced seat views that may include informational overlays thatare updatable and personalized.

Some example embodiments are described in this disclosure with referenceto the appended figures. In the figures, features with like item numbersindicate similar structure and similar functionality unless describedotherwise.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example operating environment 100 in which anonline ticket marketplace (hereinafter, “marketplace”) may beimplemented. In the operating environment 100, a user 116 may interactwith their user device 102 to search for and/or obtain tickets, whichmay be listed on a site that is hosted or controlled by a system server140. The tickets may be for an event that occurs at a venue 114. As theuser 116 interacts with the user device 102, an enhanced seat view maybe provided to a user device 102 from a system server 140 via a network122. The enhanced seat view may depict a seat view from a particularlocation in the venue 114. The enhanced seat view may be a 360-degreeimage that is responsive to orientation of the user device 102. As usedin this disclosure, the term “360-degree image” includes image data fromvertical viewing angles and horizontal viewing angles greater than about300 degrees for a particular point.

The operating environment 100 of FIG. 1 may include a social networkserver 126, the system server 140, the user device 102, the network 122,and a venue server 112. The social network server 126, the system server140, the user device 102, and the venue server 112 (collectively,environment components) may communicate information and data via thenetwork 122. For example, one or more of the environment components maycommunicate information and data related to ticket transactions such asthe enhanced seat views, user input, and event information. Each of theenvironment components is briefly described in the following paragraphs.

The network 122 may include a wired network, a wireless network, or anycombination thereof. The network 122 may include any suitableconfiguration or configurations including a star configuration, tokenring configuration, or other configurations. The network 122 may includea local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) (e.g., theInternet), and/or other interconnected data paths across which multipledevices may communicate. In some embodiments, the network 122 mayinclude a peer-to-peer network. The network 122 may also be coupled toor include portions of a telecommunications network that may enablecommunication of data in a variety of different communication protocols.In some embodiments, the network 122 includes BLUETOOTH® communicationnetworks and/or cellular communication networks for sending andreceiving data including via short messaging service (SMS), multimediamessaging service (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol HTTP), direct dataconnection, wireless application protocol (WAP), e-mail, and the like.

The user 116 may include an individual or an entity that may interfacewith the user device 102 to participate in a ticketing search or aticketing transaction. For example, the user 116 may include a personwho wants to purchase a ticket for a particular event that is going totake place in the venue 114. The user 116 may have a relationship ofsome kind with an associate 128. The associate 128 may include anotherindividual. The relationship may be a friendship, a familialrelationship, etc. The user 116 may be associated with the user device102. The association between the user 116 and the user device 102 mayinclude an ownership or regular operation of the user device 102 by theuser 116.

The user device 102 may include a computing device that may include aprocessor, memory, and network communication capabilities. The userdevice 102 may be configured for communication with one or more otherenvironment components via the network 122. Some examples of the userdevice 102 include a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tabletcomputer, a mobile telephone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant(“PDA”), a mobile e-mail device, a portable game player, a portablemusic player, smart wearable technology, or any other applicableelectronic device capable of accessing the network 122.

The user device 102 may include a user input device 106, a displaydevice 118, an orientation sensor 130, a user feedback device 131, and aticket purchase module 105. The user input device 106 may include one ormore pieces of hardware configured to notify the user 116 of the userdevice 102 of a communication, and/or present a communication to theuser 116. In these and other embodiments, the user input device 106 mayalso be configured to receive input from the user 116 of the user device102. The user input may include selecting, inputting, or inputting andselecting human base interactive questions, tasks, and user information,such as calendars, communication preferences, or contacts, among otherinformation. In some embodiments, the user input device 106 may includeone or more of: a speaker, a microphone, a display device (e.g., thedisplay device 118), a joystick, a direction pad (D-pad), a triggerinput, a motion sensor, eye tracker, a trackpad, a thermal inputcapturing device, a keyboard, and a touch screen, among other hardwaredevices.

The display device 118 may include a substantially planar surface onwhich information and data are displayed to the user 116. In addition,in some embodiments, at least a portion of the user input may bereceived by the display device 118. Some examples of the display device118 may include a light emitting diode (LED) display, liquid crystaldisplays (LCD), thin film transistor (TFT) LCD, in-place switching (IPS)LCD, resistive touchscreen LCD, capacitive touchscreen LCD, organic LED(OLED), active-matrix OLED, etc.

The orientation sensor 130 may include any sensor that is configured tomeasure data representative of movement of the user device 102. Forexample, the orientation sensor 130 may include one or moreaccelerometers, which may be 3-axis sensors; one or more gyroscopicsensors; magnetic sensors; and the like. The orientation sensors 130 maybe configured to measure rotation of the user device 102 relative to anaxis as well as rotational or translational motion of the user device102 relative to a previous position.

The user feedback device 131 may include any device that communicatessome feedback to the user 116. The feedback may be based on data such asthe digital model or the enhanced seat view received by the user device102. In some embodiments, the user feedback device 131 may include ahaptic output device. The haptic output device may apply a force,motion, vibration, or some combination thereof to the user 116. Forinstance, the enhanced seat view may be communicated to the user device102. As the user 116 moves the user device 102 portions of the enhancedseat view or the digital model forming the basis thereof may change. Inaddition, in embodiments including the haptic output device, somefeedback (e.g., a vibration or a pressure) may be conveyed to the user116.

In some embodiments, the user device 102 may omit the orientation sensor130. In these and other embodiments, the user input device 106 and/orthe display device 118 may be used to simulate or indicate movement ofthe user device 102. For example, instead of physically moving the userdevice 102, the user 116 may operate the user input device 106, whichmay simulate movement of the user device 102.

FIG. 1 illustrates the display device 118, the user input device 106,and the orientation sensor 130 as separate devices. In some embodiments,one or more of the display device 118, the user input device 106, andthe orientation sensor 130 may be included in one device.

The ticket purchase module 105 may be configured to implement amarketplace interaction or an online ticket exchange with the systemserver 140 that involves one or more of the enhanced seat views. In someembodiments, the ticket purchase module 105 may display on the displaydevice 118 of the user device 102, a digital map. The digital map (somedetails of which are provided below) is a representation of the venue114. The digital map may depict seating sections and/or seats of thevenue 114 arranged for a particular event.

The ticket purchase module 105 may receive user input via the user inputdevice 106. The user input may be used to select one seating section orone seat of the venue 114. The ticket purchase module 105 may receive oraccess from the system server 140 or a server ticket module 104 atwo-dimensional image of a view from the selected seating section or theselected seat. Additionally or alternatively, the ticket purchase module105 may receive or access one or more enhanced image digital icons. Theticket purchase module 105 may display the two-dimensional image and/orone or more enhanced image digital icons on the display device 118.

The ticket purchase module 105 may communicate additional user inputused to select one of the enhanced image digital icons. In response, theticket purchase module 105 may receive or access an enhanced seat viewthat is consistent with the selected enhanced image digital icons. Theticket purchase module 105 may display a first portion of the enhancedseat view. The first portion of the enhanced seat view may correspond toa first line of sight orientation of the user device 102 from theselected seating section or from the selected seat. In some embodiments,the first line of sight orientation is determined by the ticket purchasemodule 105 based on orientation data measured by the orientation sensor130. In other embodiments, the first portion of the enhanced view may bea default portion of the enhanced seat view (e.g., a view directedtowards the stage or point of interest of the venue).

The ticket purchase module 105 may receive sensor data from theorientation sensor 130 included in the user device 102. The sensor datamay be indicative of a movement of the user device 102 from the firstline of sight orientation to a second line of sight orientation. Inresponse to receipt of the sensor data, the ticket purchase module 105may display on the display device 118 a second portion of the enhancedseat view. The second portion of the enhanced seat view may correspondto the second line of sight orientation of the user device 102 from theselected seating section or from the selected seat.

The ticket purchase module 105 may display an informational overlay ofevent information, a digital indicator of the associate 128, arelocation icon, or some combination thereof on the display device 118.The informational overlay, the digital indicator, and the relocationicon are described below.

The ticket purchase module 105 may be implemented using hardwareincluding a processor, a microprocessor (e.g., to perform or controlperformance of one or more operations), a field-programmable gate array(FPGA), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In someother instances, the ticket purchase module 105 may be implemented usinga combination of hardware and software. Implementation in software mayinclude rapid activation and deactivation of one or more transistors ortransistor elements such as may be included in the hardware of acomputing system (e.g., the user device 102). Additionally, softwaredefined instructions may operate on information within transistorelements. Implementation of software instructions may at leasttemporarily reconfigure electronic pathways and transform computinghardware.

Some of the enhanced seat views are configured for embodiments in whichthe user device 102 is a smartphone or similar handheld computing device(e.g., a tablet). In these and other embodiments, the user device 102may be implemented with an augmented reality (AR) platform 124. Forexample, the enhanced seat view may be a dual image that when viewed byan AR platform results in a three-dimensional image. Some examples ofthe AR platform 124 include GOOGLE CARDBOARD®, SAMSUNG GEAR VR®, or asimilar system. The enhanced seat view that includes a dual image may bea stereoscopic 360 view.

The venue 114 may include any forum in which events may take place orare performed. Some examples of the venue 114 may include a stadium, anarena, a theatre, a parking lot, a fairground, and the like. The eventmay include any type of happening in which tickets are used for entry.Some examples of the event are sporting events, concerts, plays, movies,festivals, and the like. The venue 114 may be associated with the venueserver 112.

The venue server 112 may include a hardware server that includes aprocessor, memory, and network communication capabilities. In theillustrated implementation, the venue server 112 is configured tocommunicate via the network 122 with the other environment components.The venue server 112 may track event information that pertains to aparticular event that is to occur or is occurring at the venue 114. Forexample, the event information may include ticket prices or ticketavailability.

The system server 140 may include a hardware server that includes aprocessor, memory, and network communication capabilities. In theillustrated implementation, the system server 140 is configured tocommunicate via the network 122 with the other environment components.

The system server 140 may include an event information database (in FIG.1, event info. DB) 110, venue images 108, and the server ticket module104. The event information database 110 may store event informationpertaining to one or more particular events occurring at the venue 114.For example, the event information includes one or more ticket pricesfor one or more seating sections or from one or more seats of the venue114, ticket availability for one or more seating sections or for one ormore of the seats of the venue 114, and the like.

The event information may originate at the system server 140. Forinstance, the event information may be generated through sales oftickets to users (e.g., 116). The event information may also originateat the venue server 112. The venue server 112 may track ticket sales viathe system server 140 and/or via other systems. The venue server 112 maycommunicate the event information representative of the ticket sales tothe system server 140. Accordingly, the event information database 110may include updated event information. Although not explicitly shown inFIG. 1, the event information in the event information database 110 mayalso originate at other sources. While the event information database110 is depicted in the system server 140, in other embodiments, theevent information database 110 may be located remotely and accessed bythe system server 140.

The venue images 108 may include two-dimensional digital images, theenhanced seat views, and digital maps of the venue 114. Thetwo-dimensional digital images may be non-interactive or fixed viewsfrom one or more of the seats and/or views from one or more of theseating sections of the venue 114. The two-dimensional digital imagesmay include portions of a computer-aided design (CAD) model of the venue114 and/or actual photographic images of the venue 114.

The enhanced seat views may include portions of the CAD model and/oractual photographic images of the venue 114. In embodiments in which theenhanced seat view includes photographic images of the venue 114, theuser device 102 may be used as a viewfinder through which the venue 114is viewed. Photographic images displayed on the display device 118 maybe enhanced by overlaying information over the photographic images. Theinformation overlaid on the photographic image may include informationaloverlays (e.g., seat prices and/or seat availability), relocation icons,a digital indicator that corresponds to an associate 128, or somecombination thereof.

The enhanced seat views may include interactive views from one or moreof the seats and/or interactive views from one or more of the seatingsections of the venue 114. The enhanced seat views may be responsive tomovement of the user device 102. For instance, the enhanced seat viewmay include a 360-degree image. In some embodiments, only a portion ofthe enhanced seat view is displayed on the display device 118 at a time.The portion of the enhanced seat view that is displayed corresponds to aline of sight orientation of the user device 102 from a seating sectionor a seat, which simulates a view the user 116 would have if they werestanding or sitting in the seating section or at the seat. The portionof the enhanced seat view may change with movement of the user device102, which may simulate movement of the head or eyes of the user 116while standing in the seating section or the seat.

In some embodiments, the two-dimensional digital images may be combinedto create 360-degree images. Some additional details of creation of the360-degree images are provided below. The enhanced seat views mayinclude panorama digital images and/or dual images that when viewed bythe AR platform 124 results in a three-dimensional image. While thevenue images 108 is depicted in the system server 140, in otherembodiments, the venue images 108 may be located remotely and accessedby the system server 140.

The digital map may be an elevation view, another view, a portionthereof, of the venue 114. The digital map may include multiple seatingsections and/or seats of the venue 114 as arranged for a particularevent. For example, the seating sections may be relocated based on theposition of a stage or floor for a particular event. The digital map mayreflect these arrangements.

In some embodiments, the seating sections and/or the seats of thedigital map may be icons that are selectable. For example, the user 116may select one of the seating sections or one of the seats using theuser input device 106. Selection of the seating section or of the seatmay prompt display of the two-dimensional image and/or enhanced seatview on the display device 118. The digital map may also include someportion of the event information such as the price information or ticketavailability. The event information may appear on the digital map when acursor is placed within or proximate to the icon of the seating sectionor the seat.

The server ticket module 104 may be configured to implement amarketplace interaction of an online ticket exchange with the userdevice 102 that involves one or more of the enhanced seat views. In someembodiments, the server ticket module 104 may communicate to the userdevice 102, the digital map. The server ticket module 104 maycommunicate the digital map to the user device 102 or may enable accessto the digital map by the user device 102. Additionally oralternatively, the server ticket module 104 may provide or communicateinstructions to the user device 102 that result in access to the digitalmap on the display device 118.

The server ticket module 104 may receive, from the user device 102, userinput. The user input may be used to select one seating section or oneseat of the venue 114. In response to the user input that selects theseating section or the seat, the server ticket module 104 maycommunicate to the user device 102 a two-dimensional digital image of aview from the selected section or from the seat.

Additionally, in response to the user input that selects the seatingsection or the seat, the server ticket module 104 may communicate to theuser device 102 one or more enhanced image digital icons. The one ormore enhanced image digital icons may include a panorama digital iconand/or a virtual reality (VR) digital icon. In some embodiments, the oneor more enhanced image digital icons may be displayed on a portion ofthe two-dimensional digital image.

As above, the server ticket module 104 may communicate or enable accessto the two-dimensional digital image and/or the enhanced image digitalicons. Additionally or alternatively, the server ticket module 104 mayprovide instructions that result in access to the two-dimensionaldigital image and/or the enhanced image digital icons by the user device102.

The server ticket module 104 may receive, from the user device 102,additional user input. The additional user input may be used to selectone of the one or more enhanced image digital icons. In response to theadditional user input that selects one of the enhanced image digitalicons, the server ticket module 104 may communicate to the user device102 the enhanced seat view that is consistent with the selected enhancedimage digital icons. A first portion of an enhanced seat view may bedisplayed on the display device 118. The first portion of the enhancedseat view corresponds to a first line of sight orientation of the userdevice 102 from the selected seating section or from the selected seat.

As mentioned above, the enhanced seat view may depict a seat view from aparticular location (e.g., a seat or a seating section) in the venue114. The enhanced seat view may be generated based on three-dimensionalmodels of the venue 114. The three-dimensional models may additionallyenable identification of three-dimensional features of the venue 114such as the seating sections, seats, floor, and the like. In addition,the three-dimensional models may enable the overlay of information inthe enhanced seat views that are related to the three-dimensionalfeatures as described elsewhere in this disclosure. Additionally still,the three-dimensional models may enable the enhanced seat views toinclude special venue decorations such as team logos. Moreover, in someembodiments the enhanced seat view may include 3D routing that mayindicate a route from a seating section or a seat to a venue facilitysuch as a shop or a bathroom.

Generation of the enhanced seat view may include a capturing phase. Inthe capturing phase, images may be taken similar to capturing aphotograph from a three dimensional model of the venue 114. For example,an image may be taken (automatically or manually) facing multipledirections from a particular location (e.g., a seat). The multipledirections may include at least an up-facing direction, a front-facingdirection, a back-facing direction, a left-facing direction, aright-facing direction, and a down-facing direction (or the resultingvectors). The multiple directions point to the faces of a sphere (inthis example a cube, a six faces sphere per se). The images may then bestitched together around a higher resolution sphere. The more imagestaken and stitched together in the first “pseudo-sphere” the higher thequality of the final enhanced seat view.

In other examples, a virtual double fish-eye lens may be used to capturethe surroundings by reflecting the surrounding “virtual light” onto asurface of the sphere. The sphere may then be unwrapped to conform to atwo-dimensional rectangle. The two-dimensional rectangle may include aparticular ratio of dimensions. For instance, a length of thetwo-dimensional rectangle may be double a height of the two-dimensionalrectangle.

To render the enhanced seat view on the user device 102, the imagesresulting from the capturing phase may be transferred via the network122 and fed into a viewer. The viewer may project the images back into asphere with one or more adjustments. A camera may be positioned at thecenter of the sphere. The camera may project directly onto a screen toproduce the panorama view.

For the dual images that result in the three-dimensional image, twocameras are used within two spheres. For the dual images, the virtualcameras lenses may be adjusted to conform to lenses present in theviewer and then projected onto a screen as two images that arepositioned side-by-side. The adjustment or image deformation may resultin a perception of distortion around the edges if viewed without an ARplatform (e.g., AR platform 124).

In both cases (the panorama and the dual images), lighting may be usedfor the virtual cameras to perceive the “virtual light” and performtheir function.

In other embodiments, generation of the enhanced seat view may includeusing six images. Similar to the capturing phase above, the six imagesmay include an up-facing direction, a front-facing direction, aback-facing direction, a left-facing direction, a right-facingdirection, and a down-facing direction. The images are not stitched ormapped to a sphere, which may make the initial image acquisition simplerand faster. These images are instead transferred over the network 122and then projected into the corresponding faces of a cube. Pixel data ofthe projections may be adjusted such that the perception of the cubeedges is unnoticeable or substantially unnoticeable.

In other embodiments, generation of the enhanced seat view may includecapturing images from the faces of the resulting sphere from thecapturing technique described above. The captured images may be streamedon demand to the user device 102 via the network 122 as orientation ofthe user device 102 is changed. In these embodiments, the involvement ofthe user device 102 may be limited to display the streamed images. Theimages from the different directions may serve as a frame of theenhanced seat view. This technique may result in faster data transferspeeds when high quality imagery is involved.

In some embodiments, the server ticket module 104 may access eventinformation for the particular event. The server ticket module 104 mayoverlay on the enhanced seat view an informational overlay of the eventinformation. The informational overlay or an icon included therein maybe overlaid over a portion of the enhanced seat view to which the eventinformation is relevant. For example, the event information may includea seat price of a particular seat. The informational overlay may includean icon overlaid over the particular seat in the enhanced seat view. Theinformational overlay may be displayed on the display device 118 inresponse to the user device 102 being oriented such that the portion ofthe enhanced seat view that includes the informational overlaycorresponds to a line of sight orientation of the user device 102.

Additionally or alternatively, a relocation icon may be included on theinformational overlay. The server ticket module 104 may receive, fromthe user device 102, user input used to select the relocation icon. Inresponse to selection of the relocation icon, the server ticket module104 may communicate a second enhanced seat view. The second enhancedseat view may include a 360-degree interactive view from the seatingsections or the seat that corresponds to where the relocation icon ispositioned. A first portion of the second enhanced seat view may bedisplayed on the display device 118. The first portion of a secondenhanced seat view corresponds to a first line of sight orientation ofthe user device 102.

In some embodiments, the enhanced seat view may include one or morerepresentations of individuals. The representations of individuals mayinclude representations of event goers and/or players/actors within thevenue 114. The representations of the individuals may contribute to anunderstanding of the user 116 as to an overall experience of attendingthe particular event at the venue 114. The features of therepresentations of individuals may include animations, such as walking,or performing the activities of the particular event.

The server ticket module 104 may display on the display device 118 apurchase icon. The server ticket module 104 may receive, from the userdevice 102, user input used to select the purchase icon. In response tothe user input that selects the purchase icon, the server ticket module104 may execute an electronic transaction for a ticket for theparticular event in the selected seating section or for the selectedseat.

The server ticket module 104 may be implemented using hardware includinga processor, a microprocessor (e.g., to perform or control performanceof one or more operations), an FPGA, or an ASIC. In some otherinstances, the server ticket module 104 may be implemented using acombination of hardware and software. Implementation in software mayinclude rapid activation and deactivation of one or more transistors ortransistor elements such as may be included in hardware of a computingsystem (e.g., the system server 140). Additionally, software definedinstructions may operate on information within transistor elements.Implementation of software instructions may at least temporarilyreconfigure electronic pathways and transform computing hardware.

The social network server 126 may include a hardware server thatincludes a processor, memory, and network communication capabilities. Inthe illustrated implementation, the social network server 126 isconfigured to communicate via the network 122 with the other environmentcomponents. The social network server 126 may be configured to support asocial network. The social network may include a social structure inwhich the user 116, the associate 128, and/or multiple other entitiesmay be connected by a common feature. The common feature may includerelationships or connections such as friendship, family, work, aninterest, and the like. The relationships and/or the common features mayform a social graph in the social network. In some examples, the socialgraph may reflect a mapping of the online users and how they may berelated.

The social network server 126 may be accessible by the system server140. For example, a user account and other social media information ofthe associate 128 on the social network server 126 may be accessed bythe system server 140 or the server ticket module 104 included therein.Additionally or alternatively, the associate 128 and/or the user 116 mayindicate that the associate 128 and the user 116 have a relationship.Accordingly, the system server 140 may know of or ascertain that arelationship exists between the user 116 and the associate 128. A ticketpurchased by the associate 128 for a particular event and informationassociated therewith (e.g., a seat location) may be recorded with thesystem server 140.

The system server 140 may overlay on the enhanced seat view a digitalindicator that corresponds to the associate 128. The digital indicatormay be overlaid over the portion of the enhanced seat view thatcorresponds to the seat location of the ticket purchased by theassociate 128. The system server 140 may display the digital indicatoron the display device 118 in response to the user device 102 beingoriented such that the portion of the enhanced seat view that includesthe digital indicator corresponds to the line of sight orientation ofthe user device 102. Additionally, in some embodiments, the systemserver 140 may alert the user 116 via the user device 102 that theassociate is attending the particular event.

For example, as the user 116 searches for tickets for the particularevent, the system server 140 may make the user 116 aware that theassociate 128 has purchased a ticket to the particular event. The user116 may wish to purchase a ticket near the seat location of theassociate 128. The enhanced seat view may thus present the digitalindicator and/or alert the user 116 as to the seat location of theassociate 128.

Additionally, the user 116 may purchase a ticket prior to purchase bythe associate 128. At a time between the purchase by the user 116 andthe event, the system server 140 may alert the user 116 that theassociate 128 also purchased a ticket to the event. The system server140 may communicate the enhanced seat view including the digitalindicator that depicts the seat location of the associate 128. The user116 may then determine whether they would like to upgrade their ticketto sit near the associate 128.

The social network server 126 may be responsive to data requests such asapplication programming interface (API) calls. The data requests mayrequest data related to one of the users and the social networkactivities associated with the corresponding user.

In the operating environment 100, memory in one or more of theenvironment components may be similar to memory 1208 described withreference to FIG. 12, processors in one or more of the environmentcomponents may be similar to a processor 1204 described with referenceto FIG. 12, and network communication capabilities of one or more of theenvironment components may be provided by a communication unit 1202described with reference to FIG. 12.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the operatingenvironment 100 without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. Specifically, embodiments depicted in FIG. 1 include one ormore user devices 102, one or more users 116, one or more social networkservers 126, one or more associates 128, one or more venue servers 112,one or more venues 114, one or more system servers 140, or somecombination thereof.

Moreover, the separation of various components in the embodimentsdescribed herein is not meant to indicate that the separation occurs inall embodiments. It may be understood with the benefit of thisdisclosure that the described components may be integrated together in asingle component or separated into multiple components. For example, insome embodiments, the user input device 106 and the display device 118may be a single device.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example ticket exchange process(process) 200 that may be implemented in the operating environment 100of FIG. 1. The process 200 of FIG. 2 may involve one or more operationsthat include exchanges of information between the user device 102 andthe system server 140 described with reference to FIG. 1. Although notexplicitly depicted in FIG. 2, data and information may be communicatedbetween the user device 102 and the system server 140 and may be via anetwork such as the network 122 of FIG. 1. The process 200 of FIG. 2 isdescribed in a particular order. However, one or more of the operationsin the process 200 may be performed in another order, combined, oromitted.

The process 200 may begin by the user 116 initiating a marketplaceinteraction. For example, the user 116 may open a mobile applicationthat is configured to perform the marketplace interaction. The user 116may search for a particular event, a particular venue, and the like. Inresponse to the search, the system server 140 or the server ticketmodule 104 may communicate a digital map 202 to the user device 102.

With reference to FIG. 3, a screen shot including an example digital map202 is depicted. The digital map 202 of FIG. 3 is AT&T PARK in SanFrancisco, Calif. In the digital map 202, a field 302 is depicted alongwith icons representative of multiple seating sections 304 as arrangedfor a major league baseball game. In FIG. 3, only one of the seatingsections 304 is labeled. Each of the seating sections 304 includesnumbers that designate the seating section 304. Although not explicitlydepicted in FIG. 3, in some embodiments, the digital map 202 may includeicons representative of seats, which may be within the multiple seatingsections 304.

FIG. 4 depicts a screen shot that includes a portion of the digital map202 of FIG. 3 with price information 402 displayed. The priceinformation 402 may be displayed in response to a cursor or anothersuitable object being placed within the icon of the seating section 304.In particular, in FIG. 4, price information 402 (e.g., “$43.00”) of theseating section 304, which is labeled “223”, is displayed.

Referring to FIG. 2, a first user input 204A may be communicated fromthe user device 102 to the system server 140. The first user input 204Amay be received from the user device 102. The first user input 204A maybe used to select one seating section from the seating sections or toselect a seat from the seats of the digital map. Referring back to FIG.4, the first user input 204A may include the user 116 using the userinput device 106 to select the icon of the seating section 304.

Referring to FIG. 2, the system server 140 may communicate atwo-dimensional image (in FIG. 2 “2-D image”) 206 to the user device102. The two-dimensional image 206 may be displayed by the displaydevice 118.

FIGS. 5 and 6 depict screen shots that include an exampletwo-dimensional image 206. In FIG. 5, the two-dimensional image 206 isdisplayed up and to the right of the digital map 202. In FIG. 6, thetwo-dimensional image 206 is enlarged to occupy the area previouslyoccupied by the digital map (202 of FIG. 5). The two-dimensional image206 may include a non-interactive view from the selected section (inthis example, section 223).

Referring back to FIG. 2, the system server 140 may communicate one ormore enhanced image digital icons (in FIG. 2, “digital icon”) 208.Referring to FIG. 6, two enhanced image digital icons 208A and 208B aredepicted on the two-dimensional image 206. The first of the enhancedimage digital icons 208A may include a panorama digital icon. The secondof the enhanced image digital icons 208B may include a VR digital icon.

Referring to FIG. 2, a second user input 204B may be communicated fromthe user device 102 to the system server 140. The second user input 204Bmay be used to select one of the one or more enhanced image digitalicons 208. Referring to FIG. 6, the second user input may include theuser 116 using the user input device 106 to select one of the enhancedimage digital icons 208A or 208B.

Referring to FIG. 2, in response to the second user input 204B thatselects one of the enhanced image digital icons 208, the system server140 may communicate an enhanced seat view (in FIG. 2, “seat image”) 210.The enhanced seat view 210 communicated to the user device 102 isconsistent with the selected enhanced image digital icons 208. Forinstance, if the second user input 204B includes a selection of thepanorama digital icon, the enhanced seat view 210 is a panorama enhancedseat view. Similarly, if the second user input 204B includes a selectionof the VR digital icon, the enhanced seat view 210 is a VR enhanced seatview.

The enhanced seat view 210 includes a view from the selected seatingsection or from the selected seat. A first portion of an enhanced seatview may be displayed on the display device 118. The first portion ofthe enhanced seat view 210 corresponds to a first line of sightorientation of the user device 102 as viewed from the selected seatingsection or from the selected seat.

FIG. 7A is a screen shot of an example first portion 704A of an enhancedseat view 210. The first portion of an enhanced seat view 210 of FIG. 7Ais a portion of a panorama digital image 702. Accordingly, the panoramadigital image 702 may be communicated by the system server 140 inresponse to the user 116 selecting the first of the enhanced imagedigital icons 208A of FIG. 6. The first portion 704A of the panoramadigital image 702 corresponds to a first line of sight orientation ofthe user device 102 as viewed from the selected seating section.

FIG. 8A is a screen shot of another example first portion 804A of anenhanced seat view 210. The first portion 804A of an enhanced seat view210 of FIG. 8A is a portion of a dual image 802 that when viewed by anAR platform results in a three-dimensional image. Accordingly, the dualimage 802 may be communicated by the system server 140 in response tothe user 116 selecting the second of the enhanced image digital icons208B of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 2, sensor data 212 may be measured by the orientationsensor 130 and communicated to the ticket purchase module 105. Thesensor data 212 may be indicative of a movement of the user device 102from the first line of sight orientation to a second line of sightorientation. In response to receipt of the sensor data 212, the userdevice 102 may display on the display device 118 a second portion of theenhanced seat view 210. The second portion of the enhanced seat view 210corresponds to the second line of sight orientation of the user device102 from the selected seating section or from the selected seat.

FIGS. 7B and 7C are screen shots that depict a second portion 704B and athird portion 704C of the panorama digital image 702, respectively. Inparticular, the FIG. 7B is the second portion 704B of the panoramadigital image 702 that may be displayed on the display device 118. Thesecond portion 704B may be displayed in response to sensor data 212indicating that the user device 102 is rotated clockwise (when viewedfrom above as described in FIGS. 11A and 11B) from the position fromwhich the first portion 704A of FIG. 7A is derived. FIG. 7C is a thirdportion 704C of the panorama digital image 702. The third portion 704Cmay be displayed on the display device 118 in response to sensor data212 indicating that the user device 102 is rotated counterclockwise fromthe position from which the first portion 704A of FIG. 7A is derived andcounterclockwise from the position from which the second portion 704B ofFIG. 7B is derived.

FIG. 8B is a screen shot that depicts a second portion 804B of the dualimage 802. In particular, the FIG. 8B is the second portion 804B of thedual image 802 that may be displayed on the display device 118 inresponse to sensor data 212 indicating that the user device 102 isrotated vertically towards the stadium floor from the position fromwhich the first portion 804A of FIG. 8A is derived.

As described above, the system server 140 may overlay an informationaloverlay on the enhanced seat view 210. The informational overlay mayinclude event information stored in the event information database 110.The informational overlay is overlaid over a portion of the enhancedseat view 210 to which the event information is relevant. Additionally,the enhanced seat view 210 may include a relocation icon. The relocationicon may be associated with the informational overlay.

In circumstances in which the enhanced seat view 210 includes theinformational overlay, the user device 102 may display the informationaloverlay on the display device 118 in response to the user device 102being oriented such that the portion of the enhanced seat view 210 thatincludes the informational overlay corresponds to a line of sightorientation of the user device 102. The relocation icon may be displayedwith or in the informational overlay.

The user 116 may provide a third user input 204C. The third user input204C may be used to select the relocation icon. The third user input204C may be communicated to and received by the system server 140, inresponse to selection of the relocation icon, a second enhanced seatview 214 may be communicated by the system server 140 to the user device102. The second enhanced seat view 214 may include a 360-degreeinteractive view from a relocation location. The user device 102 maydisplay on the display device 118 a first portion of a second enhancedseat view 214. The first portion of the second enhanced seat view 214corresponds to a first line of sight orientation of the user device 102.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot of a portion 904 of an enhanced seat view 902.The portion 904 of the enhanced seat view 902 includes an exampleinformational overlay 906. The informational overlay 906 includes priceinformation from a seating section 908 that is within the portion 904 ofthe enhanced seat view 902. In other examples, the informational overlay906 may include other event information.

The portion 904 of the enhanced seat view 902 includes an examplerelocation icon 910. The relocation icon 910 states “MOVE HERE.” inresponse to selection of the relocation icon 910, a second enhanced seatview may be communicated to the user device 102. The second enhancedseat view 214 includes a 360-degree interactive view from the seatingsection 908. The enhanced seat view 902 of FIG. 9, which includes therelocation icon 910 and the informational overlay 906, is a panoramadigital image. It may be appreciated with the benefit of this disclosurethat the relocation icon 910 and the informational overlay 906 may beincluded in enhanced seat views that include a dual image (e.g., FIGS.8A and 8B).

In some embodiments, the system server 140 may overlay a digitalindicator that corresponds to an associate (e.g., the associate 128 ofFIG. 1) of the user 116. The digital indicator may be overlaid over theportion of the enhanced seat view that corresponds to a seat location ofthe associate. The user device 102 may display the digital indicator onthe display device 118 in response to the user device 102 being orientedsuch that the portion of the enhanced seat view that includes thedigital indicator corresponds to the line of sight orientation of theuser device 102.

FIG. 10 is a screen shot of a portion 1004 of an enhanced seat view1002. The portion 1004 of the enhanced seat view 1002 includes anexample digital indicator 1006. The digital indicator 1006 includes asmall person icon that is within the portion 1004 of the enhanced seatview 1002.

The portion 1004 of the enhanced seat view 1002 also includes anotherexample informational overlay 1008. The informational overlay 1008includes price information from a seating section 1010 that is withinthe portion 1004 of the enhanced seat view 1002.

The enhanced seat view 1002 of FIG. 10, which includes the digitalindicator 1006, is a panorama digital image. It may be appreciated withthe benefit of this disclosure that the digital indicator 1006 may beincluded in enhanced seat views that include a dual image (e.g., FIGS.8A and 8B).

Referring to FIG. 2, the system server 140 may communicate a purchaseicon 216 to the user device 102. The user device 102 may display thepurchase icon 216 on the display device 118. The user device 102 mayreceive a fourth user input 204D used to select the purchase icon 216.The fourth user input 204D might be communicated to the system server140. In response to the fourth user input 204D that selects the purchaseicon 216, the system server 140 may execute an electronic transactionfor an event ticket for the particular event in a selected seatingsection. In some embodiments, the purchase icon 216 may be overlaid on aportion of the enhanced seat view. In other embodiments, the purchaseicon 216 may be included in a list adjacent to or otherwise displayedwith the enhanced seat view.

Referring back to FIG. 10, an example purchase icon 1012 is included onthe screen shot of the portion 1004 of the enhanced seat view 1002.Selection of the purchase icon 1012 may include the user touching orotherwise providing user input effective to select the purchase icon1012. In response to the user input that selects the purchase icon 1012,the system server may execute an electronic transaction for an eventticket for the particular event in a selected seating section.

The portion 1004 of the enhanced seat view 1002 also includes anotherexample informational overlay 1008. The informational overlay 1008includes price information from a seating section 1010 that is withinthe portion 1004 of the enhanced seat view 1002.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate diagrams of line of sight orientations1100A and 1100B of the user device 102. In FIGS. 11A and 11B, a top viewof the user device 102 is shown. The enhanced seat view 210 may includea 360-degree image. In FIGS. 11A and 11B, the enhanced seat view 210 maybe considered fixed.

FIG. 11A depicts a first line of sight orientation 1100A. In the firstline of sight orientation 1100A, the user device 102 is in a firstangular orientation relative to the user 116. Accordingly, a firstportion 1102A of the enhanced seat view 210 may be displayed on thedisplay device 118 of the user device 102.

FIG. 11B depicts a second line of sight orientation 1100B. In the secondline of sight orientation 1100B, the user device 102 is in a secondangular orientation relative to the user 116. For example, the userdevice 102 is rotated counterclockwise in the plane of the page betweenFIG. 11A and FIG. 11B. Accordingly, a second portion 1102B of theenhanced seat view 210 may be displayed on the display device 118 of theuser device 102.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example computing device 1200. The computingdevice 1200 may be configured for marketplace transactions or onlineticket exchanges, arranged in accordance with at least one embodimentdescribed herein. The computing device 1200 may include one or moreprocessors 1204, memory 1208, a communication unit 1202, the user inputdevice 106, and a data storage 1201 that includes the ticket purchasemodule 105 and the server ticket module 104. Some examples of thecomputing device 1200 may include the user device 102, the system server140, the venue server 112, and the social network server 126 discussedelsewhere in the present disclosure.

The processor 1204 may include any suitable special-purpose orgeneral-purpose computer, computing entity, or processing deviceincluding various computer hardware or software modules and may beconfigured to execute instructions stored on any applicablecomputer-readable storage media. For example, the processor 1204 mayinclude a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor(DSP), an ASIC, an FPGA, or any other digital or analog circuitryconfigured to interpret and/or to execute program instructions and/or toprocess data.

Although illustrated as a single processor in FIG. 12, it is understoodthat the processor 1204 may include any number of processors configuredto perform individually or collectively any number of operationsdescribed herein. Additionally, one or more of the processors may bepresent on one or more different electronic devices. In someembodiments, the processor 1204 may interpret and/or execute programinstructions and/or process data stored in the memory 1208, the datastorage 1201, or the memory 1208 and the data storage 1201. In someembodiments, the processor 1204 may fetch program instructions from thedata storage 1201 and load the program instructions in the memory 1208.After the program instructions are loaded into memory 1208, theprocessor 1204 may execute the program instructions.

The memory 1208 and data storage 1201 may include computer-readablestorage media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions ordata structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable storage media mayinclude any available media that may be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, such as the processor 1204. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable storage media may includetangible or non-transitory computer-readable storage media includingRandom Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Compact Disc Read-OnlyMemory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, flash memory devices (e.g., solid statememory devices), or any other storage medium which may be used to carryor store desired program code in the form of computer-executableinstructions or data structures and that may be accessed by ageneral-purpose or special-purpose computer. Combinations of the abovemay also be included within the scope of computer-readable storagemedia. Computer-executable instructions may include, for example,instructions and data configured to cause the processor 1204 to performa certain operation or group of operations.

The communication unit 1202 may include one or more pieces of hardwareconfigured to receive and send communications. In some embodiments, thecommunication unit 1202 may include one or more of an antenna, a wiredport, and modulation/demodulation hardware, among other communicationhardware devices. In particular, the communication unit 1202 may beconfigured to receive a communication from outside the computing device1200 and to present the communication to the processor 1204 or to send acommunication from the processor 1204 to another device or network.

The user input device 106 may include one or more pieces of hardwareconfigured to notify a user of the computing device 1200 of acommunication, present a communication to a user, or to notify a user ofa communication and present the communication to the user. In someembodiments, the user interface may include one or more of a speaker, amicrophone, a display, a keyboard, and a touch screen, among otherhardware devices. In these and other embodiments, the user input device106 may also be configured to receive input from a user of the computingdevice 1200. The user input may include selecting, inputting, orinputting and selecting human base interactive questions, tasks, anduser information, such as calendars, communication preferences, orcontacts, among other information.

The protection module 1212 may include program instructions stored inthe data storage 1201. The processor 1204 may be configured to load theprotection module 1212 into the memory 1208 and execute the protectionmodule 1212. When executing the protection module 1212, the processor1204 may be configured to perform operations of event monitoring asdescribed elsewhere herein.

In view of this disclosure, it will be appreciated that modifications,additions, or omissions may be made to the computing device 1200 withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in someembodiments, the computing device 1200 may not include the user inputdevice 106. In these and other embodiments, the computing device 1200may be a server or other computing device or system that monitors foroccurrence of monitored events using the communication unit 1202. Insome embodiments, the different components of the computing device 1200may be physically separate and may be communicatively coupled via anysuitable mechanism. For example, the data storage 1201 may be part of astorage device that is separate from a server, which includes theprocessor 1204, the memory 1208, and the communication interface, thatis communicatively coupled to the storage device.

As indicated above, the embodiments described herein may include the useof a special purpose or general purpose computer (e.g., the processor1204 of FIG. 12) including various computer hardware or softwaremodules, as discussed in greater detail below. Further, as indicatedabove, embodiments described herein may be implemented usingcomputer-readable media (e.g., the memory 1208 of FIG. 12) for carryingor having computer-executable instructions or data structures storedthereon.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example method 1300 of online ticketexchange that involves an enhanced seat view. The method 1300 may beginat block 1302 in which a digital map may be communicated to a userdevice. The digital map may be of a venue. The digital map may depictmultiple seating sections of the venue as arranged for a particularevent. For instance, the venue as arranged for a particular event mayinclude one or more of a stage location, seating section omissions, anda floor type. The digital map may include an elevation view of thevenue. The digital map may include price information of each of theseating sections. The price information may be displayed when a cursoris placed within an icon of the seating section.

At block 1304, user input used to select one seating section of thevenue from the seating sections may be received from the user device. Atblock 1306, a two-dimensional digital image of a view from the selectedsection may be communicated. The two-dimensional digital image may becommunicated in response to the user input that selects the seatingsection.

At block 1308, one or more enhanced image digital icons may becommunicated to the user device. The one or more enhanced image digitalicons may include a VR digital icon and/or a panorama digital icon. Theenhanced image digital icons may be displayed on the two-dimensionaldigital image. At block 1310, additional user input used to select oneof the one or more enhanced image digital icons may be received.

At block 1312, a first portion of an enhanced seat view may becommunicated. The first portion of the enhanced seat view may becommunicated to the user device in response to the user input thatselects one of the enhanced image digital icons. The enhanced seat viewmay be consistent with the selected enhanced image digital icons. Theenhanced seat view may include a 360-degree interactive view from theselected seating section that is responsive to movement of the userdevice. The first portion of the enhanced seat view may correspond to afirst line of sight orientation of the user device from the selectedseating section. The enhanced seat view may include a two-dimensional,panorama digital image. The enhanced seat view may also include a dualimage that when viewed by an AR platform results in a three-dimensionalimage. The enhanced seat view may include a portion of a computer-aideddesign (CAD) model of the venue and/or actual photographic images of thevenue.

At block 1314, a purchase icon may be communicated to a user device. Atblock 1316, user input used to select the purchase icon may be receivedfrom the user device. At block 1318, an electronic transaction for anevent ticket for the particular event may be executed. The transactionmay be executed in the selected seating section in response to the userinput that selects the purchase icon.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that, for this and otherprocedures and methods disclosed herein, the functions performed in theprocesses and methods may be implemented in differing order.Furthermore, the outlined steps and operations are only provided asexamples, and some of the steps and operations may be optional, combinedinto fewer steps and operations, or expanded into additional steps andoperations without detracting from the disclosed embodiments.

In some embodiments, the method 1300 may include accessing eventinformation for the particular event. A digital overlay may then begenerated that includes one or more icons that represent the eventinformation. The digital overlay may be configured such that the icon ispositioned on the portion of the enhanced seat view that is relevant tothe event information. In these and other embodiments, the method 1300may include overlaying on the enhanced seat view the digital overlay ofthe event information. The digital overlay may be overlaid over aportion of the enhanced seat view to which the event information isrelevant. For example, the event information may include a ticket pricefor a second seating section during the particular event. A digitaloverlay may be generated that includes an icon of the ticket price thatis overlaid over the second seating section. Additionally, the eventinformation may include ticket availability for a third seating sectionduring the particular event. The digital overlay may include an icon ofthe ticket availability overlaid over the third seating section.

Additionally in these and other embodiments, the digital overlay mayinclude a relocation icon associated with a relocation position. Therelocation position may include another seating section or another seat,which may be available during the particular event. The relocationposition may also correspond to the portion of the enhanced seat view towhich the event information is relevant. The method 1300 may includeoverlaying with the digital overlay that includes the relocation icon onthe enhanced seat view. User input used to select the relocation iconmay be received. In response to selection of the relocation icon, themethod 1300 may include communicating to the user device a secondenhanced seat view or a first portion thereof. The second enhanced seatview may include a 360-degree interactive view from a seating sectionthat corresponds to the portion of the enhanced seat view to which theevent information is relevant.

In some embodiments, the method 1300 may include accessing social mediainformation of an associate of a user. A seat location of the associatefor the particular event may be determined. The method 1300 may includeoverlaying on the enhanced seat view a digital indicator thatcorresponds to the associate. The digital indicator may be overlaid overthe portion of the enhanced seat view that corresponds to the seatlocation. The method 1300 may include alerting the user that theassociate is attending the particular event.

The method 1300 described with reference to FIG. 13 includes selectionof a seating section. In other embodiments, the method 1300 may includeselection of a seat. The steps represented in blocks 1302, 1304, 1306,1308, 1310, 1312, 1314, 1316, 1318, or some combination thereof may beperformed substantially as described above except the seat is selected.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are a block diagram of another example method 1400 ofan online ticket exchange that involves an enhanced seat view. Withreference to FIG. 14A, the method 1400 may begin at block 1402 in whicha digital map may be received. The digital map may be of a venue. Thedigital map may depict multiple seating sections of the venue asarranged for a particular event. For instance, the venue as arranged fora particular event may include one or more of a stage location, seatingsection omissions, and a floor type. The digital map may include anelevation view of the venue. The digital map may include priceinformation of some or each of the seating sections. The priceinformation may be displayed when a cursor is placed within an icon ofthe seating section.

At block 1404, the digital map may be displayed on a display device ofthe user device. At block 1406, user input used to select one seatingsection from the seating sections may be received. The user input usedto select the seating section may include selecting, using a user inputdevice, one icon representative of one of the seating sections from thedigital map. At block 1408, the user input used to select one seatingsection may be communicated to a system server. At block 1410, atwo-dimensional digital image of a view from the selected seatingsection may be received.

At block 1412, the two-dimensional digital image of the view from theselected section may be displayed on the display device. At block 1414,one or more enhanced image digital icons may be received. The one ormore enhanced image digital icons may include a panorama digital iconand a VR digital icon. At block 1416, one or more enhanced image digitalicons may be displayed on the display device. The enhanced image digitalicons may be displayed on the two-dimensional digital image. At block1418, additional user input used to select one of the one or moreenhanced image digital icons may be received.

Referring to FIG. 14B, at block 1420, the user input used to select oneof the one or more enhanced image digital icons may be communicated tothe system server. At block 1421, a first line of sight orientation ofthe user device may be determined. The first line of sight orientationmay be determined based on sensor input from one or more orientationdevices. At block 1422, an enhanced seat view may be received. Theenhanced seat view may be consistent with the selected enhanced imagedigital icons. The enhanced seat view may include a 360-degreeinteractive view from the selected section that is responsive tomovement of the user device. The enhanced seat view may include aportion of a CAD model of the venue and/or actual photographic images ofthe venue. The enhanced seat view may include a two-dimensional,panorama digital image. The enhanced seat view may include a dual imagethat when viewed by an AR platform results in a three-dimensional image.

At block 1424, a first portion of the enhanced seat view may bedisplayed. The first portion of the enhanced seat view may be displayedin response to receipt of the enhanced seat view. The first portion ofthe enhanced seat view may correspond to the first line of sightorientation of the user device from the selected seating section.

At block 1426, additional sensor data from the one or more orientationsensors may be received. The sensor data may be indicative of a movementof the user device from the first line of sight orientation to a secondline of sight orientation. At block 1428, a second portion of theenhanced seat view may be displayed on the display device. The secondportion of the enhanced seat view may correspond to the second line ofsight orientation of the user device from the selected seating section.

At block 1430, a purchase icon may be displayed on the display device.At block 1432, user input used to select the purchase icon may bereceived from the user device. At block 1434, user input used to selectthe purchase icon may be communicated to the system server. The userinput used to select the purchase icon may be communicated to prompt anexecution of an electronic transaction for an event ticket for theparticular event in the selected seating section.

In some embodiments, the enhanced seat view may include a digitaloverlay. The digital overlay may include an icon representative ofaccessed event information. The icon may be overlaid over a portion ofthe enhanced seat view to which the event information is relevant. Inthese and other embodiments, the method 1400 may further comprisedisplaying the digital overlay on the display device in response to theuser device being oriented such that the portion of the enhanced seatview that includes the digital overlay corresponds to a line of sightorientation of the user device.

For example, the event information may include a ticket price for asecond seating section of the seating sections during the particularevent. The icon may accordingly include the ticket price overlaid overthe second seating section. The event information may include ticketavailability for a third seating section during the particular event.The icon may accordingly include the ticket availability overlaid overthe third seating section.

In some embodiments, the digital overlay may include a relocation iconthat is associated with a relocation position. In these and otherembodiments, the method 1400 may include receiving user input used toselect the relocation icon. The method 1400 may include communicatingthe user input used to select the relocation icon to the system server.The method 1400 may include receiving a second enhanced seat view fromthe system server and displaying on the display device a first portionof a second enhanced seat view. The first portion of the second enhancedseat view corresponds to a first line of sight orientation of the userdevice from the relocation position.

In some embodiments, the enhanced seat view includes a digital indicatorthat corresponds to a seat location of an associate of a user. Thedigital indicator may be overlaid over the portion of the enhanced seatview that corresponds to the seat location. The method 1400 may includedisplaying the digital indicator on the display device in response tothe user device being oriented such that the portion of the enhancedseat view that includes the digital indicator corresponds to the line ofsight orientation of the user device. The method 1400 may includealerting the user that the associate is attending the particular event.

The method 1400 described with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B includesselection of a seating section. In other embodiments, the method 1400may include selection of a seat. The steps represented in blocks 1402,1404, 1406, 1408, 1410, 1412, 1414, 1416, 1418, 1420, 1422, 1424, 1426,1428, 1430, 1432, 1434, or some combination thereof may be performedsubstantially as described above except the seat is selected.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example method 1500 of digital modeloptimization. The method 1500 may begin at block 1502 in which a digitalmodel may be generated. The digital model may be of a venue in someembodiments. Generating the digital model may include stitching togethermultiple two-dimensional images captured in different directions arounda resolution sphere to create three-dimensional model. Additionally, inthese and other embodiments, the generating the digital model of thevenue may include lighting the digital module using a virtual camera toperceive virtual light. Additionally, in some embodiments, a virtualdouble fish-eye lens may be used to capture the surroundings byreflecting the surrounding “virtual light” onto a surface of the sphere.The sphere may then be unwrapped to conform to a two-dimensionalrectangle. In other embodiments, another process of generating thedigital model may be used as described elsewhere in the presentdisclosure.

In some embodiments, the multiple two-dimensional images include a firstimage from an up-facing direction, a second image from a front-facingdirection, a third image from a back-facing direction, a fourth imagefrom a left-facing direction, a fifth image from a right-facingdirection, and a sixth image from a down-facing direction. Additionallyor alternatively, in some embodiments, a virtual double fish-eye lens isused to capture the two-dimensional images.

At block 1504, a digital map may be communicated to a user device. Thedigital map may be of a venue. The digital map may depict multipleseating sections of the venue as arranged for a particular event. Forinstance, the venue as arranged for a particular event may include oneor more of a stage location, seating section omissions, and a floortype. The digital map may include an elevation view of the venue. Thedigital map may include price information of each of the seatingsections. The price information may be displayed when a cursor is placedwithin an icon of the seating section.

At block 1506, user input used to select one seating section of thevenue from the multiple seating sections may be received from the userdevice. At block 1508, a first portion of the digital model may becommunicated as an enhanced view to the user device. The first portionmay correspond to a first line of sight orientation of the user devicefrom the selected seating section as measured by an orientation sensor.At block 1510, a signal may be received. The signal may indicate thatsensor data measured by the orientation sensor indicates a movement ofthe user device from the first line of sight orientation to a secondline of sight orientation.

At block 1512, a second portion of the digital model may be communicatedto the user device. The second portion of the digital model may becommunicated in response to receipt of the indication of the sensordata. The second portion of the digital model may correspond to thesecond line of sight orientation of the user device from the selectedseating section.

In some embodiments, the method 1500 may include communicating to theuser device one or more enhanced image digital icons. The enhanced imagedigital icons may be communicated in response to the user input thatselects the seating section. The method 1500 may include receivingadditional user input used to select one of the one or more enhancedimage digital icons. In these and other embodiments, the one or moreenhanced image digital icons may include one or both of a panoramadigital icon and a VR digital icon. Additionally, the enhanced seat viewmay include one or both of a two-dimensional, panorama digital image anda dual image that when viewed by an augmented reality platform resultsin a three-dimensional image.

In some embodiments, the method 1500 may include accessing eventinformation for the particular event. The event information may berelevant to a particular portion of the venue. The method 1500 mayinclude generating an informational overlay that includes the eventinformation. The informational overlay may include an icon positioned onthe particular portion of the enhanced seat view. In these and otherembodiments, method 1500 may include overlaying the informationaloverlay on the enhanced seat view. When overlaid, the icon may bedisplayed on the user device in response to the user device beingoriented such that the portion of the enhanced seat view that includesthe informational overlay corresponds to a line of sight orientation ofthe user device.

The event information may include a ticket price for a second seatingsection of the seating sections during the particular event and the iconincludes the ticket price overlaid over the second seating section.Additionally or alternatively, the event information may include ticketavailability for a third seating section of the seating sections duringthe particular event and the icon includes the ticket availabilityoverlaid over the third seating section.

In some embodiments, the method 1500 may include accessing eventinformation for the particular event. The event information may includea relocation position. The method 1500 may further include generating aninformational overlay that includes a relocation icon associated withthe relocation position. The informational overlay may include an iconpositioned on the particular portion of the enhanced seat viewcorresponding to the relocation position. The method 1500 may includeoverlaying the informational overlay on the enhanced seat view,receiving, from the user device, user input used to select therelocation icon and communicating to the user device a third portion ofthe digital model in response to the user input. The third portion maycorrespond to a third line of sight orientation from the relocationposition in response to selection of the relocation icon.

In some embodiments, the method 1500 may include accessing social mediainformation of an associate of a user and determining a seat location ofthe associate for the particular event. The method 1500 may includeoverlaying on the enhanced seat view a digital indicator thatcorresponds to the associate and alerting a user that the associate isattending the particular event. The digital indicator may be overlaidover the portion of the enhanced seat view that corresponds to the seatlocation.

In some embodiments, the method 1500 may include communicating apurchase icon to the user device and receiving, from the user device,user input used to select the purchase icon. The method 1500 may includeexecuting an electronic transaction for an event ticket for theparticular event in the selected seating section in response to the userinput that selects the purchase icon.

The method 1500 described with reference to FIG. 15 includes selectionof a seating section. In other embodiments, the method 1500 may includeselection of a seat. The steps represented in blocks 1502, 1504, 1506,1508, 1510, 1512 or some combination thereof may be performedsubstantially as described above except the seat is selected.

The methods 1300, 1400, and 1500 may be performed in an operatingenvironment such as the operating environment 100 of FIG. 1. The methods1300, 1400, and 1500 may be programmably performed in some embodimentsby the system server 140 or user device 102 described in the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments, the system server 140, the user device102, or another computing system may include or may be communicativelycoupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., the datastorage 1201 or memory 1208 of FIG. 12) having stored thereonprogramming code or instructions that are executable by one or moreprocessors (such as the processor 1204 of FIG. 12) to cause a computingsystem of the user device 102, the system server 140, or somecombination thereof to perform or control performance of the methods1300, 1400, and 1500. Additionally or alternatively, the system server140 and/or the user device 102 may include the processor 1204 describedelsewhere in the present disclosure that is configured to executecomputer instructions to cause the system server 140, the user device102, or another computing system to perform or control performance ofthe methods 1300, 1400, or 1500.

Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks in FIG. 13,FIGS. 14A and 14B, or FIG. 15 may be divided into additional blocks,combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desiredimplementation.

As used herein, the terms “module” or “component” may refer to specifichardware implementations configured to perform the actions of the moduleor component and/or software objects or software routines that may bestored on and/or executed by general purpose hardware (e.g.,computer-readable media, processing devices, etc.) of the computingsystem. In some embodiments, the different components, modules, engines,and services described herein may be implemented as objects or processesthat execute on the computing system (e.g., as separate threads). Whilesome of the system and methods described herein are generally describedas being implemented in software (stored on and/or executed by generalpurpose hardware), specific hardware implementations or a combination ofsoftware and specific hardware implementations are also possible andcontemplated. In this description, a “computing entity” may be anycomputing system as previously defined herein, or any module orcombination of modulates running on a computing system.

Terms used herein and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies ofthe appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., theterm “including” should be interpreted as “including, but not limitedto,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” theterm “includes” should be interpreted as “includes, but is not limitedto,” etc.).

Additionally, if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation isintended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and inthe absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example,as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may containusage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” tointroduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should notbe construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by theindefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containingsuch introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one”or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articlesused to introduce claim recitations.

In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitationis explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that suchrecitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, and C, etc.” or “one or more of A, B, and C, etc.” isused, in general such a construction is intended to include A alone, Balone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, orA, B, and C together, etc. For example, the use of the term “and/or” isintended to be construed in this manner.

Further, any disjunctive word or phrase presenting two or morealternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings,should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including oneof the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, thephrase “A or B” should be understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the invention andthe concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and areto be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recitedexamples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present disclosurehave been described in detail, it should be understood that the variouschanges, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a processor; and amemory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor,configure the system to perform operations comprising: overlaying aninformational overlay over a digital icon positioned on a digital model,the digital model comprising a digital map of a venue and the digitalicon comprising at least one seating section; communicating, to a userdevice, a first portion of the digital model that corresponds to a firstline of sight orientation of the user device; and responsive to a signalindicating movement of the user device from the first line of sightorientation to a second line of sight orientation, communicating asecond portion of the digital model to the user device, the secondportion corresponding to the second line of sight orientation and theinformational overlay such that the digital icon is displayed.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the instructions further configure the systemto perform operations comprising: retrieving information associated withthe informational overlay from a database.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the digital model comprises a three-dimensional image and thedigital icon comprises a panorama digital icon or a virtual reality (VR)icon.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the digital model comprisescombining two-dimensional images captured at different directionsprojected onto corresponding faces of a cube, wherein thetwo-dimensional images comprises a first image from an up-facingdirection, a second image from a front-facing direction, a third imagefrom a back-facing direction, a fourth image from a left-facingdirection, a fifth image from a right-facing direction, and a sixthimage from a down-facing direction.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first line of sight orientation and the second line of sightorientation are measured by an orientation sensor of the user device. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the digital map of the venue comprises astadium, an arena, a theatre, a parking lot, or a fairground.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the instructions further configure the systemto perform operations comprising: identifying a region of interest onthe digital map of the venue, the region of interest comprising a flooror stage; and rendering an elevated view of the venue, the elevated viewcomprising a display of the digital icon and the at least one seatingsection arranged relative to the region of interest.
 8. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the instructions further configure the system toperform operations comprising: retrieving ticket information associatedwith the venue; and overlaying the ticket information on top of thedigital icon.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions furtherconfigure the system to perform operations comprising: retrieving socialmedia information of a second user from a social network server, thesocial media information comprising seating information associated withthe venue; determining a location of a second icon in the elevated viewof the venue, the second icon associated with the seating information ofthe second user; and overlaying a digital indicator onto a portion ofthe second icon that corresponds to the location of the second user inthe digital map of the venue.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein theinstructions further configure the system to perform operationscomprising: communicating the portion of the second icon thatcorresponds to the location to the user device.
 11. The system of claim7, wherein the instructions further configure the system to performoperations comprising: communicating a purchase icon to the user device;receiving, from the user device, additional user input used to selectthe purchase icon; and responsive to the additional user input,executing an electronic transaction for an event ticket for an event ina selected seating section.
 12. A method, comprising: overlaying aninformational overlay over a digital icon positioned on a digital model,the digital model comprising a digital map of a venue and the digitalicon comprising at least one seating section; communicating, to a userdevice, a first portion of the digital model that corresponds to a firstline of sight orientation of the user device; and responsive to a signalindicating movement of the user device from the first line of sightorientation to a second line of sight orientation, communicating asecond portion of the digital model to the user device, the secondportion corresponding to the second line of sight orientation and theinformational overlay such that the digital icon is displayed.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising, retrieving informationassociated with the informational overlay from a database.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the digital model comprises athree-dimensional image and the digital icon comprises a panoramadigital icon or a virtual reality (VR) icon.
 15. The method of claim 12,wherein the digital map of the venue comprises a stadium, an arena, atheatre, a parking lot, or a fairground.
 16. The method of claim 15,further comprising: identifying a region of interest on the digital mapof the venue, the region of interest comprising a floor or stage; andrendering an elevated view of the venue, the elevated view comprising adisplay of the digital icon and the at least one seating sectionarranged relative to the region of interest.
 17. The method of claim 16,further comprising: retrieving ticket information associated with thevenue; and overlaying the ticket information on top of the digital icon.18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: retrieving social mediainformation of a second user from a social network server, the socialmedia information comprising seating information associated with thevenue; determining a location of a second icon in the elevated view ofthe venue, the second icon associated with the seating information ofthe second user; and overlaying a digital indicator onto a portion ofthe second icon that corresponds to the location of the second user inthe digital map of the venue.
 19. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising: communicating a purchase icon to the user device; receiving,from the user device, additional user input used to select the purchaseicon; and responsive to the additional user input, executing anelectronic transaction for an event ticket for a particular event in aselected seating section.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium, the computer-readable storage medium including instructions thatwhen executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operationscomprising: overlaying an informational overlay over a digital iconpositioned on a digital model, the digital model comprising a digitalmap of a venue and the digital icon comprising at least one seatingsection; communicating, to a user device, a first portion of the digitalmodel that corresponds to a first line of sight orientation of the userdevice; and responsive to a signal indicating movement of the userdevice from the first line of sight orientation to a second line ofsight orientation, communicating a second portion of the digital modelto the user device, the second portion corresponding to the second lineof sight orientation and the informational overlay such that the digitalicon is displayed.